Treating PCOS with Nutrition: Why Addressing Gut Health is Key
PCOS Symptoms
This is an exciting topic for me. (Nerd alert!)
But for real - I was once diagnosed with PCOS, and so whenever I am studying it, or hear that someone I know is dealing with it, I light up! It's such an interesting topic to me, and has impacted my life on a deeply emotional level.
It’s important to me that you know that I GET IT. More deeply than most, I am right there with you.
For those unfamiliar with the term, PCOS stands for PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome. It occurs when our body, for whatever reason (more on that later), cannot fully ovulate, meaning the egg cannot fully break through the follicle wall and ovary wall into the fallopian tube. Instead, the egg remains in the ovary wall and creates a cyst. When this happens repeatedly, the ovary becomes covered in cysts.
The really heartbreaking part is that female-bodied individuals who've been diagnosed with PCOS are often diagnosed while in the process of trying to get pregnant.
But why aren't our health care professionals looking into this when we come to them earlier on, with PCOS symptoms of irregular periods, cystic acne, blood sugar issues, weight gain or PCOS belly, and even chronic pain...
Why do they just throw 'the pill' at us instead of investigating the root cause?
Why do we have to wait until the moment we are in a super vulnerable stage (anyone who's ridden the roller coaster of trying to conceive...), when we could have addressed it sooner?!
This, to me, is truly maddening.
The most important takeaway from this post: PCOS is not an ovarian issue - it is a GUT issue. Addressing gut health will go a long way to improving PCOS symptoms.
what are PCOS symptoms?
If you have been given a PCOS diagnosis and have been advised to seek infertility treatments, know that you have other options. PCOS treatment does not involve petri dishes, hormone shots, egg extraction, etc..
If PCOS is the causal factor in your infertility, it can be addressed dietarily, without the use of expensive infertility treatments.
PCOS IS NOT AN OVARIAN CONDITION - IT IS A GUT ISSUE.
Whether or not you are trying to get pregnant, are done having kids, or don't want kids - if you are a female-bodied person, then you, or someone you know, will probably encounter PCOS symptoms at some point.
Before we really dig in, I want to briefly share my story as it relates to PCOS.
my PCOS story
I was a "late bloomer" (first red flag), did not get my first period until I was 16 or 17. They were irregular from the start and for decades after.
Add to that, I was pretty ignorant of how my body was supposed to function, due to my parents' religious beliefs and consequently a severe disconnection from my body’s needs.
(Um, side note: Can we PLEASE normalize talking to kids about their bodies?!)
Cystic acne from my teen years and many years into adulthood, I have always had excess belly and hip fat (commonly known as PCOS belly), difficulty losing weight, symptoms of low blood sugar, the works.
When I was 18 (ca. 2000) and my periods had still not regulated, I got my first gynecological exam. I was given a prescription for 'the pill' and was told that it would regulate my cycle (and it did).
I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I trusted that my doctor knew what was best. I didn’t understand until later that if that doctor had taken the time to help me find the root causes of my PCOS symptoms, I would have been spared decades of heartache and confusion.
Fast forward to 2009, my partner and I decided we wanted children, so I stopped the pill, and we began trying to conceive. It was a few months without a period that we started to get concerned.
My GYN ordered an ultrasound, and I was diagnosed with PCOS.
The GYN prescribed Clomid (my apologies to anyone who had to encounter me during this time). Clomid is a medication that stimulates an increase in hormones involved in ovulation.
When two rounds of Clomid were unsuccessful, we were left with the decision to come up with the money to pursue infertility treatment or to just keep our fingers crossed.
We left that appointment with broken hearts, as that kind of money was truly foreign to us at the time.
The short story is, we never did have children (and are now very happy with our lifestyle without children). We tried for many years before finally making a very intentional decision to NOT have children.
Being a holistic healthcare provider now has taught me a lot about my PCOS diagnosis and how to address them. And although I no longer want children of my own, I no longer have signs of PCOS symptoms!
PCOS treatment
PCOS occurs when there is an imbalance of hormones. Period.
This imbalance can be caused by a number of things: Pituitary dysfunction, adrenal dysfunction, toxic overload, liver dysfunction...
It often (not always) has very little to do with the ovaries themselves.
PCOS is the end result of other dysfunctions in the body, and symptoms of PCOS can, and often do, make it difficult for a female to get pregnant.
Here’s a brief breakdown of the female reproductive system as it relates to PCOS symptom. For those who want a more thorough explanation, read this article.
Remember that this system requires our brain (hypothalamus) to communicate with the pituitary gland, which releases hormones to stimulate egg growth, which increases estrogen production, and once the egg matures and breaks through the ovary wall, then progesterone is produced. From there, we need our liver to detoxify the excess hormones that are now circulating throughout our body (yes, these hormones need a way out!).
Because other systems in our body use similar pathways, it is easy to create bottlenecks of dysfunction.
The most obvious example as it relates to PCOS symptoms, is blood sugar regulation. You might remember from an article I wrote recently in regards to blood sugar balance, that it is not just about what you eat. It, too, requires your hypothalamus to communicate with your pituitary gland, telling it to produce hormones, that travel to your adrenal glands, telling them to produce other hormones (epinephrine and cortisol), that stimulate the pancreas to release OTHER hormones.... (you get the idea).
When we are chronically stressed (meaning, our body produces cortisol more frequently than it needs to), or we overly consume sugar, processed foods, or medications, we create dysfunction in other systems of our body.
THE GOOD NEWS IS…
Unless your body has an underlying dysfunction within your individual chemical makeup, all of these things can be addressed using dietary and lifestyle changes.
And for those of you who have been told PCOS is the cause of your infertility, knowing this is life-changing.
Effective treatment of PCOS symptoms starts by looking at the root cause. Here’s what individualized PCOS treatment means for you:
reduce PCOS belly, or weight loss in the belly/hips
regulate menstrual cycles
improve ovulation cycle
improve insulin sensitivity
prevent Type II Diabetes
improve skin clarity
Individualized assessments and a customized care plan based on your body’s unique health needs are essential to getting relief from your PCOS symptoms. Anything else is just throwing spaghetti at the wall, and aren’t you tired of doing this?
That being said, there are ways to effectively support common PCOS symptoms with more foundational recommendations.
how to get rid of PCOS
Eat whole foods. Ditch anything that strays from its whole form in any way, as much as possible. Processed foods, and especially refined carbohydrates, lead to inflammatory conditions such as leaky gut, in addition to promoting insulin resistance.
Stop counting calories. You are not doing your body any favors by restricting how many calories are consumed. This is a temptation for many female-bodied individuals, especially because excess weight is often harder to shed with PCOS. The quality of food you consume carries more value than the amount of calories, in regards to hormone balance.
Regulate your blood sugar (here is a great article on how to do that). For many, it involves eating more quality fats & proteins each meal, increasing (whole) fiber, and decreasing the amount of starchy foods, grains, and sugars/sweeteners (yes, even 'low calorie'). Not only will this help your PCOS symptoms, you'll also get less "hangry" symptoms (your friends & family will thank you!)
Stop snacking. Eating more quality fats/proteins and fiber each meal will likely help you feel more satiated (satisfied) and not want to snack anyways. However, a conscious effort to not snack will help improve insulin sensitivity, which will support your adrenal glands and liver function.
supplements to improve PCOS symptoms
**Always consult with a trusted health care practitioner before adding any supplements to your regimen. Additionally, taking supplements without addressing foundational factors (discussed above) is a waste of your money. Click here to read my full Medical Disclaimer.
Myo-Inositol Plus (Bioclinic Naturals)- improves insulin response, and can help lower excess estrogens & testosterone.
HPA Adapt (Integrative Therapeutics)- supports the cohesion of the Hypothalamus, Pituitary, & Adrenal (HPA) axis
Calcium D-Glucarate (Integrative Therapeutics)- Supports the specific detox pathway, called glucuronidation, in the liver needed to deactivate and remove excess hormones, like estrogen and testosterone.
BroccoProtect (Designs for Health)- supports Phase II detox pathways in the liver. Females with PCOS often have sluggish Phase II detox pathways, and BroccoProtect helps to support these pathways to ensure the deactivation and removal of excess hormones.
Megaspore Probiotics (Microbiome Labs)- Introducing a good quality probiotic to support the elimination of excess hormones after they've been neutralized by the liver, is essential to making sure they don't get reabsorbed into your body. Elimination is key!
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